A Spot for the Scotts: 6 Months Old!

Natalie is 6 months old today! I can't believe it! You always hear people say that time flies when you're having fun, or that kids grow up too fast, and I'm here to say that I definitely agree! She is 1/2 a year old today! That means in 6 months, we'll be having her first birthday party! Wow!

Natalie is doing great, and is learning lots of new things. She says "bababoo" (or something like that), sits completely by herself for at least 10-15 minutes, eats cereal and has started eating veggies (squash and carrots so far), sleeps really well at night (10-12 hours), drinks 5 bottles per day, takes around a 2-hour nap in the morning and around a 2-hour nap in the afternoon. She is enjoying being on her stomach a little more and extending her arms to push up and look forward. But she still really likes to roll over on her back and she can do this really fast now and just smiles with pride once she does! She is laughing and squealing ALL the time now and has realized that if Darran or I leave the room and she squeals, we'll come back in - this makes her very happy and she just smiles at us! She is actually busting out of her clothes - literally! Her little toes are popping out of her 6-9 month clothes (mostly the ones with little footies), so we're moving on up! She loves to go outside (when it's not snowing...), loves to laugh at and pat Lily (and occasionally pull her hair), and loves to cuddle and hug. She even waves her arm and bends her fingers to wave "hi" and "bye" sometimes. She recognizes her name and smiles when you say it. She loves to sing and babbles and squeals when you sing to her. She also really likes to hold onto my hair and my ears. We are having so much fun with her and each month I think Darran and I both say - "This is the best month yet!"

We did have a few rough spots during the last 2 weeks, though. Natalie apparently had an allergic reaction to oatmeal (we think) and broke out into hives all around her mouth and neck, and they quickly spread all over her body. With a little Benadryl, she was good as new, and the doctor thinks she'll grow out of this, so we'll try it again in a couple of months. She really likes her veggies now. She gagged with every bite the first time we tried squash, but then learned to like it a little more, and she has loved carrots from day one. It's so fun to see her open her mouth and lean in to get the spoon in her mouth. She would just love to try to feed herself with the spoon, but Mommy isnt' quite ready for the mess that would cause - I'm finding out that these carrots aren't washing out of clothes and bibs as easily as squash did - who knew?

We've also been giving Lily dog lots of extra TLC. As most of you know, she has had minor seizures occasionally at times during her life, that have now started to become more frequent, sometimes a couple of times a week. Long story short, we did some bloodwork at the vet and she seems to have a problem with her liver. She's going for an abdominal ultrasound this week which will tell us if her condition can be controlled with diet changes and medication, or if she will need surgery. Please keep her in your prayers! She is actually acting pretty much completely like herself (running laps around the house, fetching stuffed animals, howling to sing, etc.), but apparently this is something that needs to be addressed before her condition gets worse. We're hoping for good news on Thursday! We're also so thankful for Adam and Mendy for their veterinary advice and assistance!

Gram and Grampa got Natalie a new pink John Deere wagon and she just can't wait to take it for a ride outside when all this snow melts. Here she is riding it around the house with Grampa.